Copper base alloy



UNITED STATE This invention relates to the improvement in the alloys and in the manufacturing of alloys wherein copper is the chief constituent.

The principal objects of this invention are to Patented Sept. 20,}949 '1 1.

oorrnn BASE ALLOY.

Vincent T. Malcolm, Springfield, Mass., assignor to. The Chapman Valve Manufacturing (30., Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts No Drawing. Application March 12, 1947, Serial No. 734,222

3 Claims. (Cl. 75-464) Sv PATENT OFFICE has resulted in the abandonment of titanium alloys after many failures by other investigators. These failures and many other Well. known defects inherent to alloys of this class, hitherto provide an alloy and a method of making ithe known, are obviated by the present invention.

same which will result in an increase in the fluidity and a decrease. in the shrinkage or cavity formation tendency in typical alloys containing copper as the chief constituent, with or without ti zin mad, ammi m, or th el ments In the alloying and manufacturing according commonly known in the alloying of non-ferrous metals.

It is a further object to provide a modification of grain structure; more particularly it is to provide an elimination of a coarse-loose grain B. Titanium has anther high affinity for both structure, which gram. structure results n excessive porosity both microscopically and macroscopically.

The object of the invention is accomplished by the addition of titanium or certain of its alloys 552 123 53 1 33 2 2 3 ig gig- 31 or compounds thereof to copper and its various alloys.

Copper and lts alloys have been known for D. Titanium has a high melting point so that the addition is preferably made in non-ferrous alloys in the form of a titanium-copper mixture previously cast in accordance with my invention; or if metallic titanium is added, provision must be made to insure that the titanium will be wet by the melt so that a a great many years to exhibit substantial casting difficulties due in large part to excessive shrinkage, which has produced flaws and unexpected failures in the hydrostatic test. In one way, this invention includes a method of decreasing shrinkage by shortening the freezing range of the base metal with a resulting increase in eutectic layer will be formed on the Surface the soundness of the casting, and a greater According to this invention, I employ varying amounts of titanium but the addition of 0.10- 1.25% has been found to be desirable, preferably an addition approaching 0.50% is desired.

to my invention, I proceed as follows:

A. Since titanium has a high affinity for oxygen, it is necessary to adequately protect titanium 15 so it may be readily wet by the melt.

nitrogen and hydrogen so it is absolutely necessary to adequately protect the titanium from contact with these gases.

remain below the surface of the melt during the melting and casting operations.

strength in the metal and the homogeneity of tion the structure, Which when hydrostatically tested will be found to be free from any tendency towards leakage due to secondary shrinkage. Furm demuthermore, titanium forms intermetalloids in the melt that apparently nucleate grain formation upon cooling of the melt; and as the addition of titanium does not form a solid solution, the macroscopic examination of the metal shows a 40 2, cover t 111mm of titanium, or titaniummarked tendency in soundness and homogeneity.

I am aware that copper in combination with titanium has been attempted in the manufacture of non-ferrous alloys but most of the attempts have been found open to objections among which 4 are inability to properly melt, resulting in gas pinholing and segregation of the alloys in the finished product. This deficiency in the finished product, due to the lack of homogeneity and proper holding of the alloys in the copper base, copper base noncharcoal.

M eihOd A 1. Charge small lumps of metallic titanium, or titanium-copper, of the required alloying amount in the bottom of a crucible or furnace.

of the titanium permitting it to go into solu- The method of melting will be now set forth copper, with one of thefollowing fluxes:

Flux B.--Certain preferred combinations of potassium nitrate, borax and ground charcoal.

3. Charge the crucible or furnace with copper base metal ingot or any desired combination of ferrous alloys.

4. Use a prepared covering consisting of charcoal and borax.

5. Melt to an oxidizing flame and deoxidize with small amounts of phosphorus, usually in the form of copper phosphorus.

6. Careful details must be followed in procedure for time of melting, temperature at which the metal is superheated in the furnace and the resulting pouring temperature of the metal into castings.

Method B All details identical with Method A are used with the exception that .l5-.25 metallic silicon is charged with the base metal ingot.

Thus there is produced a metal which has the the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of making a titanium-containing copper alloy consisting in placing metallic titanium in the bottom of a furnace in Which the alloy is to be melted, covering said titanium with a fiux r of potassium nitrate and borax and ground charcoal, charging the furnace with a copper base metal ingot, covering the charged alloy with a mixture of charcoal and borax, melting to an oxidizing flame, deoxidizing with a small amount of phosphorus.

2. A method of producing copper alloy having fluidity and non-shrinkage characteristics which consists in, placing metallic titanium in the bottom of a crucible, covering the same with a mixture of potassium nitrate, borax and ground charcoal, charging the crucible thereover with copper base metal, covering the same with a mixture of charcoal and borax, melting to an oxidizing flame and de-oxidizing with a small amount of phosphorus, said nitrate, borax and charcoal of the mixture being of such proportions as to act as a flux, and said titanium being from 0.10 to 1.25% of the alloy.

3. A method of producing copper alloy having fluidity and non-shrinkage characteristics which consists in, placing metallic titanium in the bottom of a crucible, covering the same with a mixture of potassium nitrate, borax and ground charcoal, charging the crucible thereover with copper base metal, covering the same with a mixture of charcoal and borax, melting to an oxidizing flame and de-oxidizing With a small amount of phosphorus, said nitrate, borax and charcoal of the mixture being of such proportions as to act as a flux, and said titanium being approximately 0.50% of the alloy.

VINCENT T. MALCOLM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 852,100 Yunck July 3, 1906 1,435,649 Mihalic Nov. 14, 1922 1,962,606 Masing et a1. June 12, 1934 2,003,889 Jennison et al June 4, 1935 2,086,604 Comstock July 13, 1937 2,102,238 Filling et al. Dec. 14, 1937 2,171,697 Hensel et a1 Sept. 5, 1939 2,195,433 Silliman Apr. 2, 1940 

